What is the difference between thermal and solar energy?

I know that solar energy is energy from the sun converted into elctrical energy and all that great stuff, but if you heat a sheet of flashing copper, put it in the sun and it makes a little more energy than it did in the shade, is that thermal or solar energy

Solar energy is energy from the sun.

There are many forms of energy.
- Plants use photosysthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy.
- Solar cells convert solar energy into electricity.
- Evaporated and condensed water, thermals, and winds convert solar energy to mechanical energy.
- Copper flashing, like most things sitting out in the sun, convert solar energy to heat.

So, its solar energy until it is absorbed by the copper, then it is thermal energy (heat)

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